I kind of hope the next console title isn't called "Kingdom Hearts 3".

For one, it doesn't make any sense, considering that there have been numerous titles since KH2. I know numerous other titles start their numbering off again after some other games (One other popular release for 2012 that is guilty for this is Assassin's Creed 3, after both Brotherhood and Revelations) but this honestly bothers me. Especially since in both Kingdom Hearts and Assassin's Creed's cases, they aren't side stories, or skippable little mini adventures.

Secondly, the 3 implies a trilogy. That's not true of Kingdom Hearts at all. The moment they announced the three handheld titles, they threw the chance of calling the series, or even this overarching storyline, a trilogy right out the window. We are deep into saga territory now. I find it weird to call something a trilogy when there are other stories of equal importance out there that really are needed to be understood. Maybe I'm just being too strict as to the definition of trilogy, but that's how I feel.

Finally, just for my own personal satisfaction, I would just find it mildly entertaining to watch the reactions of the handheld naysayers when a console Kingdom Hearts is finally released and it's called anything but "Kingdom Hearts 3". But that's just the troll in me wanting some love.

Technically, Assassin's Creed can get away with having "Assassin's Creed III" because each numbered game follows a different Assassin. Assassin's Creed = Altair, Assassin's Creed II and family = Ezio, and Assassin's Creed III = Connor. Brotherhood and Revelations are basically just expansion packs of ACII.

Kingdom Hearts doesn't really have a formula like that to follow, and the only real thing that warrants the "III" for the next Kingdom Hearts main console game is just that -- it's a main console game. Does that make it any more important than a handheld game? No, not at all. But it definitely gives it a bigger, more epic feeling.. which in the end will help on the marketing side of things, which I think is half of the reason it will probably be Kingdom Hearts III. And lets face it, when it comes to the side games, Square-Enix's marketing budget appears to be pretty low.

People automatically switch into caution mode when they hear about a new Kingdom Hearts game being on a handheld, and it's not hard to understand why. Outside of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, side games are usually optional adventures that have little to no influence on the overall plot. Also, it's not rare for me to see people commenting on handheld KH game reviews saying that they haven't followed the series since Kingdom Hearts II. It's not exactly a series that you can just jump into and expect to even have the slightest clue as to what is going on.

In my opinion, Square-Enix made a mess of things by making every game so important to the plot, but releasing them exclusively across 4 different machines and not to mention rival companies. Seriously, lets look at this:

In 10 years we have 7 Kingdom Hearts games divided among 4 different systems -- 9 across 6 if you want to count the original versions of CoM and Coded -- all of which have a fair, if not major significance to the Kingdom Hearts story. This wouldn't be so bad if the Kingdom Hearts the series wasn't as plot-driven as it is. As I said before, there is so much information you need to have and understand, and there are so many sub-arcs and character points you need to understand before you can truly grasp what is going on in the overall scheme of things.

Missing even one of the above games throws a wrench into that understanding. Believe me, I haven't played Birth By Sleep yet, and some parts of Dream Drop Distance have made me raise an eyebrow.

I got a little bit off track, but it still concludes to my main reason why I think the PlayStation 3(or 4) Kingdom Hearts will be "Kingdom Hearts III". It'll be recognizable, it's easier to advertise to the masses, and it'll help draw in the "I haven't followed since KHII" crowd.

Mr. Kingdom Hearts II would probably consider purchasing "Kingdom Hearts III" before thinking about "Kingdom Hearts: [Cryptic Sub-name Here]", which would probably also be ignorantly shrugged off as another silly side-game, depending on how much Square-Enix puts into marketing.

For one, it doesn't make any sense, considering that there have been numerous titles since KH2. I know numerous other titles start their numbering off again after some other games (One other popular release for 2012 that is guilty for this is Assassin's Creed 3, after both Brotherhood and Revelations) but this honestly bothers me. Especially since in both Kingdom Hearts and Assassin's Creed's cases, they aren't side stories, or skippable little mini adventures.

Secondly, the 3 implies a trilogy. That's not true of Kingdom Hearts at all. The moment they announced the three handheld titles, they threw the chance of calling the series, or even this overarching storyline, a trilogy right out the window. We are deep into saga territory now. I find it weird to call something a trilogy when there are other stories of equal importance out there that really are needed to be understood. Maybe I'm just being too strict as to the definition of trilogy, but that's how I feel.

Finally, just for my own personal satisfaction, I would just find it mildly entertaining to watch the reactions of the handheld naysayers when a console Kingdom Hearts is finally released and it's called anything but "Kingdom Hearts 3". But that's just the troll in me wanting some love.

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No Kingdom Hearts 3?! You do realize that saying that here is blasphemy, on par with swearing right?

I see where you're coming from though. All the handheld games that have come out since KH2 feel like they're building up to something really epic--just like Chain of Memories did. If it's not epic enough to warrant its own number, that'd be a huuuge disappointment. I really think that Kingdom Hearts should be a trilogy, personally

Also, one of my pet-peeves with series is when the numbers stop, or the pattern is broken or something (like how Rocky Balboa should have just been Rocky XI, and The Final Destination was the dumbest name in the world for Final Destination 4).